Palace tells Sison: Duterte need not disclose medical records

Malacañang on Wednesday insisted that President Rodrigo Duterte had been transparent about his health condition and need not disclose his medical records.

Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella issued the statement as he downplayed the statement of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria Sison urging Duterte to reveal his health condition and to see a psychiatrist.

“The President has again and again declared… And we can see that he is pretty much in control of his physiology. He seems to be in the best of health,” Abella told reporters.

“Up to this stage, I don’t know what the response is. But, you know, there’s really no need to do that. As far as I can see, there’s really no need to do that,” he added.

Duterte, after saying Sison has colon cancer, advised him to commit suicide so he would not be a burden to the Norwegian government.

But Sison, who is in exile in The Netherlands, said Duterte’s claim that he was sick was “a blatant lie.”

“I pity him and I am tempted just to let him go because what he says against me is patently baseless and comes obviously from a sick mind,” Sison said in a Facebook post.

“But I still have to answer him to prevent him from misleading the public and rousing them the wrong way. At any rate, he has to look after his mental health and consult with a professional psychiatrist,” Sison added.

Last month, Duterte was not seen in public for several days and had no official engagements, sparking speculation that he was seriously ill.

But Malacañang said he was “just resting.” The President also dismissed rumors that he was sick, saying he only stayed in bed.